Sustainable Places Team Member - 28810

The Environment Agency are fully committed to having an inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. We don’t just talk about diversity; we seek it, embrace it and live it, for the benefit of our staff, our communities and our environment. Everyone starting in a new role will be welcomed into the team and given all the training and support needed. As part of your comprehensive induction, you will be provided with all the equipment required for your role.

Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do. You will be asked to have an incident role and make yourself available to respond to incidents or provide business continuity support during an incident. This may attract an additional payment and full training will be available to support you with your incident role. Further information on incident response can be found within your candidate pack.

We're looking for two highly motivated and enthusiastic individuals to join the Environment Agency’s Yorkshire Area Sustainable Places Team.
You'll help manage the Environment Agency’s interaction within the planning process. You’ll support the team in managing planning consultations from Local Authorities and developers.
We use our professionalism and expertise to protect people, property, and the environment. You’ll work with colleagues who deal with flood risk, contaminated land, water quality, biodiversity and permitted facilities, to ensure the advice we provide is sound.
We promote the issue of climate change in our work by influencing local policy, future growth proposals, and commenting on major planning proposals. The team advises on a range of development types, including residential, commercial and minerals and waste.
You will be dealing with pre-planning enquiries, planning application consultations, and responding to local authority development plans.
The role also offers opportunities to use and develop your project management, financial and innovation skills.

We are the Yorkshire Sustainable Places Team. We sit within Environment, Planning & Engagement (EPE).
We are based in Leeds; the team is spread across Yorkshire.
We are a strong, Inclusive, and dynamic team. We support each other by working hard and through continuous learning and development.
We are seeking two highly motivated people to join our team.
Our working patterns and locations are flexible, including working from home. We promote a positive work-life balance.

You may have some experience in Town and Country Planning or a related field and/or have an understanding and interest in the relevant environmental issues, although this is not essential.

You will be able to demonstrate the following:

- a passion for people and the environment and an interest in the planning system, economics and growth and development.
- Good team working skills.
- Effective influencing and negotiation skills.
- IT skills.
- Be able to successfully engage with a range of audiences.
- Effective writing and communication skills.
- An ability to achieve results and proactively solve problems.
- Have good people and project management skills.
- An ability to work flexibly responding to competing demands in a time pressured environment.
- You will be able to prioritise effectively.

We do not accept CVs, therefore, your answers to the competencies will be used for selection. You may find it helpful to use the STAR approach to answering the questions. Please see the attached candidate pack for the competency dictionary and further information.

You will have an agreed Yorkshire office. There will be an element of home and office working, with the expectation to travel to other offices in and around Yorkshire where required.

Interviews are expected to be scheduled for w/c 22/04/2024. The interview will be either over teams or face to face.

Please contact Zoe Needham - zoe.needham@environment-agency.gov.uk or James Hewson-Smith - james.hewson-smith@environment-agency.gov.uk if you require further information about this role.

(Please note that your answers to the capability questions will be used for shortlisting purposes. Your examples do not necessarily have to be work related, please use the best example from any area of your life. You may find researching the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) useful when answering the questions. Try to utilise the full word count where possible. A link to the capability dictionary, which outlines some of the key things we're looking for in your answers, can be found in the Candidate Pack attached to the advert.)

Definition of Communicates Effectively: Listens and questions to understand and engage. Conveys information and ideas clearly, accurately and persuasively through speech and writing.

Question: Describe a time that you had to convince someone to do something that they were initially reluctant to do.

Definition of Achieves Results: Sets and delivers high work standards, demonstrates the drive to meet targets. Prioritises and organises tasks and resources to ensure timely achievement of results.

Question: Describe a time when you successfully met a tight deadline.

Definition of Works in Teams: Works co-operatively as part of a team to achieve common goals.

Question: Describe a time that you worked well as part of a team.